Byrnes moves closer to officially being Padres GM

Josh Byrnes moved very close to becoming the Padres' ninth general manager Friday afternoon as the Padres officially granted the Chicago Cubs permission to talk to current GM Jed Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod.

The Cubs asked for permission to talk to Hoyer and McLeod as the club’s deal with the Red Sox regarding Theo Epstein was being completed. Epstein is expected to be announced as the Cubs' president of baseball operations Tuesday.

Byrnes is expected to be introduced as the Padres general manager later in the week.

“The Cubs made a formal request to talk to Hoyer and McLeod Friday and it was granted,” said a source who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Hoyer will likely be named the Cubs' GM on Tuesday. McLeod would go to the Cubs as an assistant GM. No other members of the Padres front office will follow Hoyer and McLeod to the Cubs as part of an agreement between the teams.

The Padres would also receive a "second-echelon" minor league prospect from the Cubs as compensation for Hoyer.

When Hoyer leaves, Byrnes, 41, would become the Padres' GM and A.J. Hinch would likely assume McLeod’s duties as assistant GM in charge of amateur scouting and player development.

Both Byrnes and Hinch joined the Padres – and reconnected with CEO Jeff Moorad – late last year after they were fired by the Diamondbacks on July 1, 2010.

Byrnes was hired as the Diamondbacks' GM in 2005 by Moorad, then Arizona's managing partner. Hinch was serving as Arizona’s manager at the time of his dismissal.

Four other teams had contacted Byrnes about front office jobs before he joined the Padres in December.

“I might be biased, but I think Josh is one of the brightest execs in the game,” Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane said Friday afternoon.

“He is bright and thoughtful with both the eye of a scout as a former player and the ability to analyze data. He’s bright and thoughtful. I think very strongly of him.”

Like Hoyer, Byrnes was a member of the original front office team put together by Epstein when he became the general manager of the Red Sox in 2002. At the time, Byrnes, who had made marks in scouting with both the Cleveland Indians and Colorado Rockies, was the Red Sox assistant GM while Hoyer was in the scouting department.

Byrnes joined the Padres last December with the title of senior vice president of baseball operations – putting him second only to Hoyer in the baseball end of a top-heavy Padres organizational structure that numbers 20 vice presidents.

A native of Washington, D.C., Byrnes attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania and began his career in professional baseball with Cleveland in 1994 as the Indians were moving into then Jacobs Field.

In four years, Byrnes moved from being an advance scout to the Indians director of scouting. Also in the Indians front office in 1996-97 and 1999 was current Padres manager Bud Black. The Indians drafted CC Sabathia while Byrnes was the director of scouting.

Following the 1999 season, Byrnes joined Dan O’Dowd in moving from the Indians to the Rockies. Byrnes served three seasons as the Rockies assistant general manager under O’Dowd with an emphasis on scouting and player development. While in Colorado, Byrnes oversaw drafts that included Jeff Francis, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe.

With the Red Sox, Byrnes assisted Epstein in assessing major league personnel and contracts while remaining active in scouting. Byrnes played a role in the drafts that brought Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jonathan Papelbon to the Red Sox.

Two years after Byrnes became the Diamondbacks general manager, Arizona won the National League West title and reached the National League Championship Series.

Byrnes helped negotiate the trades that brought pitchers Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson to the Diamondbacks and presided over the drafts that added such young players as first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, third baseman Ryan Roberts and pitcher Josh Collmenter to the Diamondbacks.

Byrnes also made the trade that brought center fielder Chris Young to Arizona, although he lost outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin via trades.

Although the Diamondbacks paid most of Byrnes' salary last year, a Padres source said that offset considerably decreases when Byrnes becomes the Padres general manager -- meaning the Padres won't reap a financial benefit from Byrnes replacing Hoyer.